


the tower of enlightenment

by shell-heads (chocopies)



Series: Cap/IM Bingo 2018 II [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prince of Camelot Tony, Sworn Knight Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 07:51:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16384163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocopies/pseuds/shell-heads
Summary: There are many duties commanded of the Captain of Camelot's knights, and Steven takes them all with a firm hand, sworn to protect and defend the citizens of Camelot with his very life. One duty, however, he carries far above all others, and he knows this is the reason King Howard locks Prince Anthony in the tower of the old kings only once Steve has left the land to lead a quest for his majesty.Captain of the knights he may be, Steve has never fooled himself or anyone else in what is his most important mission; before his king, and before his knights, and before anyone else, Steve fights for his prince, and it is through no sense of responsibility or duty that he does so.Steve fights, and laughs, and yells, and it all belongs to Prince Anthony for the simple reason that Steve loves him, and no king or kingdom will ever be able to change that. Consequences be damned-the day Steve leaves Tony to King Howard's cruel mercies will be a cold day in hell, indeed.And so, shaking with rage, to the tower the noble knight goes.





	the tower of enlightenment

**Author's Note:**

> if you are triggered by captivity and/or drugged captivity, please do not read. if not, please go ahead!!

“Tony?” Steve asks in the dark, hardly daring to breathe hope into his name and feeling his heart trip over itself within the shadows of the stone around him, his hands holding onto the torch within them like a lifeline. “Tony?”

For a terrible, _dreadful_ moment, everything is silence, and Steve can feel the overwhelming wave of despair he’d been doing his best to fight off swallow him, a vile, black smog that’s been snapping at his heels since he began climbing this damned tower, when there’s a small shuffle and then-

“St’ve?” comes Tony’s quiet voice, his shaky whisper echoing thinly off the walls, the most beautiful sound Steve has ever heard.

“Tony!” he calls out, almost delirious with relief, “Tony, I’m here, I’m here, where are you?”

“Steve?” Tony repeats, thick and full of disbelief, and something inside Steve breaks apart, hard and angry and horrified, because Tony’s _crying-_

-Tony, whose smile is brighter than all the stars in the night sky, Tony whose eyes sparkle with humor and wit, Tony who looks at people and sees them for what they’re worth and not what the world says they must be, Tony who’s always, always, hid his pain behind a beautifully crafted mask, Tony who Steve _loves-_

-and Steve would rather face an entire army by himself than ever, _ever_ have to hear Tony sound like that.

Sucking in a harsh breath, Steve takes a careful two steps back on the landing, eyeing the narrow length of stairs just mere fingers behind his heels.

“Move away from the door,” Steve commands tightly, setting the torch into the nearest sconce.

Blood rushing violently at the sound of chains dragging across the floor at his order, Steve draws his sword from its scabbard and aims for the scant space between the hinges and the stone arch before jamming it in with an extreme prejudice. Plying his way through the second set of hinges much the same, Steve drops the sword and pushes at the door firmly, wasting no time in rushing to the dark shadow at the far end of the room and reaching for Tony.

“Tony, _Tony_ ,” Steve breathes, hands flying all over him as if frightened by the concept of releasing any inch of him untouched, his palms wet at the curves of Tony’s cheeks. “Tony, I’m here, I came for you, it’s okay.”

“St’ve,” Tony mumbles, glimmering tears falling afresh in the faint light cascading over them from the torch behind, “I...waited…”

“Tony?” Steve whispers worriedly, near tears himself when the flames flicker and he sees the blue tinge to his face, his beautiful hands rubbed raw from the weight of the manacles, “ _oh_ , Tony, what has he done to you?”

“A...drink,” Tony rasps, leaning into his touch despite the shivers wracking his body. “To m’ke...me...see vish-vishions…”

Rage, hot and bright, colors Steve’s heart, and it takes him a moment to breathe past the heavy weight of it threatening to swallow him alive to rub a reassuring thumb across Tony’s skin and smile as gently as he can.

“I’m going to get you out of these, okay?” Steve says, fingers twitching with a need for bloodshed when Tony musters the energy to look at him, glassy-eyed and heavily bruised. “Let me go and get the sword, and you’ll be out of these in no time, alright?”

“D’n’t go,” Tony stumbles over his tongue, hands loosely fisting into his tunic when Steve sets him against the wall. “No, don’t….d’n’t leave me.”

“I won’t,” Steve swears, falling to his knees immediately and resting his head against Tony’s sweaty forelocks, “Never. I’ll be right back, my love, I _promise_ you.”

Cursing himself for letting his affections slip through so easily, Steve lets a tear of his own fall as Tony slowly lets go of him, eyes lolling while he turns his face to the light.

“I...bel’ve you…” Tony hums with the barest hint of a smile, Steve laughing brokenly and unable to keep from kissing his knuckles in an unspoken vow.

Retrieving the sword in a quick three steps, Steve hurries back to Tony’s side and helps him place his hands on a nearby chest to position them properly, stroking his soaked hairs back and hushing him with soothing coos even as the last bits of his weary heart break apart further.

With a hard strike of his sword, the manacles fall apart instantly, and Steve is shoving his sword into its scabbard haphazardly to scramble back to Tony.

“See? I came right back,” Steve says, smile wobbling dangerously while he loops his arms under Tony’s knees and neck, his words just brushing over a crown of black hair.

“You...did. You c’lled...me...love,” Tony slurs against his shoulder, fingers curled as tightly as they can be into his tunic.

Swallowing through his clogged throat, Steve closes his eyes and shudders with his next breath before gathering the bare scraps of his remaining courage to answer.

“I did, my liege,” Steve admits readily, securing Tony within his arms before making his way down the steps with a hurried foot, unwilling to release Tony from his arms for even a second longer to figure out how to carry both his worn body and the torch flickering merrily beside them.

“Only you...w’ld need...me gett’ng looked...in a towr...to admit it,” Tony manages, a beautiful blue eye working open to accompany his slow, sweet smile.

Freezing in place at the bottom step and blinking back a sudden onset of tears, Steve tries to force his mouth to form the words required to respond to something like that, because Tony just confessed he _knew_ about Steve’s feelings, and his smile says perhaps, just _perhaps_ -

-perhaps he looks at Steve and sees the stars too, feels the desire to hold him as viscerally as any long-drawn hunger, aches with every piece of his being to make Steve smile and laugh the way Steve does for his prince, awakens and falls to sleep with Steve at his thoughts-

- _loves_ Steve as Steve loves _him_ , dizzying and alight and as fierce as any known beast, dripping with words and hopes and dreams of something precious and sweet.

“Tony,” Steve begins, choking on a gasp and shaking-

“I love you too,” Tony murmurs, smile stained in moonlight and gold and all things beautiful; Steve makes his way out the tower’s proud doors with his arms trembling from the sheer weight of his joy, and when Tony beckons for him to near to press a tender kiss to his wet cheeks, the strongest knight of Camelot falls mercy to its prince with a single touch.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a fill for my stony bingo slot "tower" and i,, quITE RANDOMLY,, DECIDED TO MAKE THIS A CAMELOT AU bc i've been so emo over bbc's merlin recently that medieval aus are about all i can write about dojsldfjsgjlgj 
> 
> basically in this au howard is the dishwad king (aka uther for fellow fans out there ;) who hates tony for causing his wife to die in childbirth, and steve is the star-studded protege he took in to replace tony, so tony and steve grew up together with howard hating tony and adoring steve; unfortunately for COCKLERUBBER HOOSIT steve and tony becomes best friend despite their differences and then FALL IN LOVE so anytime howard tries to hurt tony steve comes in and saves him and bc howard considers steve his best pet project and 'true heir' he doesn't fight back,,, esp since now everyone in the kingdom respect and follows steve more than him HAH 
> 
> also, while tony is currently drugged, steve does not do anything outside of their usual physical intimacy in his advantaged state, and tony chooses in his addled state to kiss steve's cheek because they're both weak softies whom we love my god


End file.
